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    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - B 2 Mins Read

    Blue Thunder (1983)

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    A super-duper, high-tech helicopter is the centrepiece of this fast-paced action yarn which plays out in the skies above Los Angeles.

    The high-tech “urban pacification” chopper has been brought to LA as a deterrent against terrorist activity during the 1984 Olympics and is equipped with microphones so sensitive it can pick up sounds behind walls, as well as being fitted with extraordinarily sophisticated zoom lenses, and a ‘whisper mode’ that allows it to travel silently.

    Roy Scheider is effective as maverick cop-pilot and Vietnam veteran (aren’t they always?) Frank Murphy who hijacks the chopper to thwart an underhanded operation to subvert civil liberties led by Murphy’s old nemesis from the Vietnam War, Colonel Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell).

    The plot has suspense but is a little too far off the wall to be plausible. The breathtaking aerial manoeuvres, though, help suspend disbelief in the storyline, and no expense was spared on the gadgetry ($22 million). The film’s final thirty minutes feature jaw-dropping stunt after jaw-dropping stunt, both on the ground and in the air.

    The second most memorable aspect of this film (next to the Blue Thunder helicopter) is Candy Clark – as Scheider’s girlfriend, Kate – in a mini skirt, black tights and boots.

    An inferior TV series followed.

    bluethunder3

    Frank Murphy
    Roy Scheider
    Colonel Cochrane
    Malcolm McDowell
    Kate
    Candy Clark
    Captain Braddock
    Warren Oates
    Lymangood
    Daniel Stern
    Icelan
    Paul Roebling
    Fletcher
    David Sheiner
    Sergeant Short
    Ed Bernard
    Mayor
    Jason Bernard
    Montoya
    Joe Santos
    Mario Machado
    Mario Machado

    Director
    John Badham

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